has anyone played with both iontec black 1.25 full bed and iontec black 1.20 full bed? i've tried the 1.25 full bed in my exo3 rebel 95 2012 and liked it more than i thought i would, undecided on whether or not to try the 1.20 next or just get more 1.25

I have been using the Multifibre 17g. in a Pure Storm Gt at 57 lbs.. I have ordered some of the premium 16 g. gut from Mamba. Can anyone give me feedback on what differences to expect and what tension to start with? I also want to try the gut in the main with Iontec 1.20 in the cross. Has anyone found that combination harsh on the arm? Thanks all for any feedback.

still a big fan of Iontec 17, but i've been experimenting with Spin Monster 17 in my Head TT Rad OS and have been enjoying it quite a bit. for a textured/shaped string, it's really good. my biggest complaint about textured/shaped strings is the reduced feel of the string bed. Spin Monster retains the feel and does enhance the spin production all the while delivering very good control. like a typical poly, it's fairly low powered and lasts me about 6-8 hours depending on the string pattern. i prefer lower powered poly strings as they really allow me to hit out without hitting long.

although i'm a big fan of Iontec 1.25 because it works so well for me in the PS85 and BC20 (frames that are at opposite ends of the spectrum), i found that it doesn't mate well w/ the Head PT280. the excellent feedback and feel that i get in the other racquets is muted and dull in the PT280. could be due to the tighter string pattern. anyways, just thought i'd share my findings.

A customer brought me a set of Mamba Premium Natural Gut to put into his racquets. I tried to post a review on the Mamba website where the review count is frozen at 7 (all positive) but it looks like the Mamba folks are only interested in positive reviews. So I will post my thoughts here.

Mamba Premium strings up like black licorice lace. It has a gummy surface that is easily chewed up by the cross strings and by the grommets. It gets chewed up by the grommets because it is not gauged properly. This set was marked 16 ga which would normally be about 1.30mm. I checked the string at several points with a digital micrometer. It ranged from 1.42 to 1.54. So, frankly I would recommend buying the black licorice instead, the gauging will be more consistent. The durability and playability should be about the same.

I would recommend to any other professional stringers out there that when someone brings you a set of Mamba Premium, in anticipation of the trouble you will have getting it through the grommet holes and surviving routine weaving and tensioning that you charge a premium for the service. I think if people realize that cheap gut is going to end up costing more than expensive gut (heck, if having to call up customer service for replacement sets isn't enough to discourage them) maybe they will stop being penny-wise and pound foolish.

Save your money and buy quality.

Edit: Quality natural gut is a highly refined product and people will look at in disbelief that it is made from animal intestines. It is often as crystal clear as nylon and as smooth in texture as any synthetic. Mamba gut is noticeably lacking in refinement. It is a gooey disintegrated mess. It is very evident that it is animal in origin. And it is the worst string anyone has ever asked me to put in a racquet.

A customer brought me a set of Mamba Premium Natural Gut to put into his racquets. I tried to post a review on the Mamba website where the review count is frozen at 7 (all positive) but it looks like the Mamba folks are only interested in positive reviews. So I will post my thoughts here.

Mamba Premium strings up like black licorice lace. It has a gummy surface that is easily chewed up by the cross strings and by the grommets. It gets chewed up by the grommets because it is not gauged properly. This set was marked 16 ga which would normally be about 1.30mm. I checked the string at several points with a digital micrometer. It ranged from 1.42 to 1.54. So, frankly I would recommend buying the black licorice instead, the gauging will be more consistent. The durability and playability should be about the same.

I would recommend to any other professional stringers out there that when someone brings you a set of Mamba Premium, in anticipation of the trouble you will have getting it through the grommet holes and surviving routine weaving and tensioning that you charge a premium for the service. I think if people realize that cheap gut is going to end up costing more than expensive gut (heck, if having to call up customer service for replacement sets isn't enough to discourage them) maybe they will stop being penny-wise and pound foolish.

Save your money and buy quality.

Edit: Quality natural gut is a highly refined product and people will look at in disbelief that it is made from animal intestines. It is often as crystal clear as nylon and as smooth in texture as any synthetic. Mamba gut is noticeably lacking in refinement. It is a gooey disintegrated mess. It is very evident that it is animal in origin. And it is the worst string anyone has ever asked me to put in a racquet.

This has been pretty much the same experience I've had with the Mamba Premium Natural Gut. In short, they're too thick to get thru the grommet holes and when I tried to pull the first cross, the string snapped due to too much friction. Thus I've never even got to try the string on the court.

I have been playing with their Supra Natural Gut and it's great. I have the 16g but it does seem closer to 15 than 16. Too bad SNG has been out of stock for a very long time. Not sure if they will ever restock the SNG.

A customer brought me a set of Mamba Premium Natural Gut to put into his racquets. I tried to post a review on the Mamba website where the review count is frozen at 7 (all positive) but it looks like the Mamba folks are only interested in positive reviews. So I will post my thoughts here.

Mamba Premium strings up like black licorice lace. It has a gummy surface that is easily chewed up by the cross strings and by the grommets. It gets chewed up by the grommets because it is not gauged properly. This set was marked 16 ga which would normally be about 1.30mm. I checked the string at several points with a digital micrometer. It ranged from 1.42 to 1.54. So, frankly I would recommend buying the black licorice instead, the gauging will be more consistent. The durability and playability should be about the same.

I would recommend to any other professional stringers out there that when someone brings you a set of Mamba Premium, in anticipation of the trouble you will have getting it through the grommet holes and surviving routine weaving and tensioning that you charge a premium for the service. I think if people realize that cheap gut is going to end up costing more than expensive gut (heck, if having to call up customer service for replacement sets isn't enough to discourage them) maybe they will stop being penny-wise and pound foolish.

Save your money and buy quality.

Edit: Quality natural gut is a highly refined product and people will look at in disbelief that it is made from animal intestines. It is often as crystal clear as nylon and as smooth in texture as any synthetic. Mamba gut is noticeably lacking in refinement. It is a gooey disintegrated mess. It is very evident that it is animal in origin. And it is the worst string anyone has ever asked me to put in a racquet.

I'm currently using the Mamba stuff, once my stock runs out, I'm switching over to the big boys brands.

While your observations are legit and when it happens, it is very annoying. However, this doesn't happen often. In my stock, I'd say about 1/10 (half sets) have these glaring imperfections.

That said, for the price and the fact that it plays beautifully in my opinion, I'm not complaining. If these were priced like the big boys brands, then hell yeah I would complain. But for ~half the price, not going to complain.

has anyone played with both iontec black 1.25 full bed and iontec black 1.20 full bed? i've tried the 1.25 full bed in my exo3 rebel 95 2012 and liked it more than i thought i would, undecided on whether or not to try the 1.20 next or just get more 1.25

I tried the 1.20 @50 (dropweight) in my Biomimetic 200. I found it to be very soft and lacking a feeling of control or spin. A big plus is how easily it was to string up. I did an UKRSA ATW one piece pattern. I would go 3 lbs. higher if I tried it again. If you're happy with the 1.25, I'd recommend sticking with that.